'Huntsman: Winter's War': A look at the (stunning) costumes

Costume designer for 'The Huntsman: Winter's War,' Colleen Atwood, describes the inspiration for some of the ensembles in the film.

The Huntsman: Winter's War is technically a spin-off of 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman. But really, it's a showcase for the work of Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood, whose icicle-covered shoulder pads, liquid-gold dresses and leather vests adorn A-list stars Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain and Chris Hemsworth in the action epic.

Atwood, who earned a tenth Oscar nomination for her work on the first Huntsman movie, spoke about four of her luxurious movie costumes that were displayed on the red carpet at the film's L.A. premiere Monday night.

Emily Blunt's Freya

A scream and an arm gesture from Freya can erect walls of ice. So it makes sense that this dress-- the one Blunt wears in Freya's last scene-- was made with metal fabric pleated to look like ice crystals, and with aquarian tubing meant to resemble spiky ice, said Atwood. And no, the designer was not inspired by the Disney character Elsa. "I didn't go there," Atwood said about ignoring the Frozen character.

Theron's Ravenna

How do you make your actress look as though she just emerged from a mirror? Atwood dressed Theron's Evil Queen Ravenna in "kind of a molten dress," she said. "It's strips of leather that are put together the way a vertical Venetian blind is, so when you turn in it it looks different in the light, but it almost has the quality of liquid." The bad news: The leather get-up is uncomfortable and heavy. The good news: Theron didn't need to wear it for long. And, it looks awesome.

Chastain's Sara

As Sara, Jessica Chastain wore plenty of leather and did stunts. Oh, and she was in heels, too.(Photo: Universal, Carly Mallenbaum)

To play Sara, a warrior, Chastain did many of her own stunts. However, this armor worn in Sara's final battle has a not-very-lightweight combination of leather and metal. Lucky for Atwood, Chastain "was into the pain," said the designer.

Hemsworth's Eric

The titular Huntsman, named Eric, has a "more refined look" since Snow White and the Huntsman, because "the Queen had given him a few finer things," said Atwood. The character, played by Hemsworth in both movies, needed a flexible, attractive outfit that didn't look drastically different on Hemsworth's stunt doubles, who didn't have the exact same body as the actor. "There's only one Chris," joked Atwood.

So what becomes of these costumes?

Hopefully, said Atwood, they appear "in a fantastic show of my costume work one time in my life." But before that, they'll be reserved in a Universal Studios archive. (No, the actors aren't allowed to take the clothes, aside from a few unnamed stars who have it in their movie deals to do so.) Of course, if they need a home, we're happy to adopt.